There has been a flicker woodpecker pecking my house for the past week. I don’t see any nest and he doesn’t seem to be at the same location so I’m not sure what he’s doing. Any ideas on what’s going on and how I can get him to stop?

Most species of woodpeckers will “sound” during the spring as described in our Woodpecker Control article. This could be a random thing but many times they will tend to use one side or section of the house. You should be able to get them to move away by installing a Jumping Spider or Bird Tape. These visual/motion deterrents do a good job of alarming woodpeckers and make them uncomfortable enough to get them to go elsewhere. I suggest you set either or both of these repelling devices up where he is most active and see if you can get him to stay away.

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Recently I have a problem with some birds pecking through the stucco on my house. What do you recommend I use to stop them?

Birds routinely create nests in trees. During the process of building the nest they’ll peck away at soft spots to create the void they’ll use. On some houses this causes damage. Stucco houses are such structures. If local birds notice the stucco has a hollow sound to it, they’ll instinctively start pecking expecting to find a space behind it where they can nest. To stop the behavior, you can set out some Jumping Spiders or Bird Tape. These deterrents work well as explained in our Woodpecker Control article. You can also get them to stop instantly by applying some 4-The-Birds Gel or 4-The-Birds Liquid to the areas where they’re active. They hate this stuff and will move away immediately.

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I need to stop a wood pecker from pecking the side of my house. I think there must be some kind of bug in there because he keeps pecking and pecking and then he moves to another spot and makes another big hole. I notice that some of the damage opens up to a space that’s like a drilled out section of the siding. I haven’t seen any bugs but I’m not close enough to tell if anything was there or if the woodpecker ate anything that was. What can I do to get him to stop causing all this destruction?

Woodpeckers will forage for food on the siding of homes. Such areas commonly have carpenter bees or powderpost beetles. The Carpenter bees will drill holes that are long and big like what you described. You can read more about them on line under Carpenterbee Control. If you think you have this bee you must treat the holes as soon as possible. This most likely will chase the wood pecker away.

Once you’ve done some kind of insect treatment, install some Bird Tape or Moving Spider where the pecking is mostly happening on the house. This should help keep the wood pecker away. Further information about these products and why woodpeckers do this can be found in our Woodpecker Control article.

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I need to control a wood pecker that is pecking my house. He comes around each morning and sometimes pecks at the soffits and other times on the gutters. Besides being loud and noisy, I’m afraid he’ll do some damage. What do you suggest?

Wood peckers will sound this time of year and commonly use homes for this purpose. Gutters will echo when pecked at and this is exactly what they’re trying to accomplish so once they start, they won’t quit. You need to set up some Bird Tape or Jumping Spiders where they most frequent. As our online article about wood pecker control explains, once they encounter the Spider or Discs, they’ll stay away and reroute their behavior.

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Why do woodpeckers keep coming around and pecking at my metal siding? They are making a terribly loud noice and it’s waking up family members when they start pecking at the first light of dawn. How can I stop this?

Woodpeckers will peck at wood mostly looking for food. At certain times of the year, they peck to make sound. This sound is both establishing their territory as well as a way to communicate with members of the opposite sex. When something like metal is found, if it makes a loud noise when pecked the woodpecker will probably keep at it till you put something in place to repel it from the area. This could be our Moving Spider or our Bird Tape. We’ve had good results with both. You can find more details in our Wood Pecker Control article.

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We have a metal light outside our porch and there is a woodpecker that keeps coming around every morning and is pecking at it. He’s making a racket as well as dents in the fixture. What can I use to keep him away?

Woodpeckers will be “sounding” like this most every spring as explained in our Woodpecker Pecking article. Fortunately this should only be a problem in the spring, around mating time, but in some cases it does persist if the woodpecker is left to do as it wishes. There are a few things you can do to keep him away. We’ve had good results with both the Bird Tape and the Moving Spider. Set these up just above the fixture and they will make him stay away. Take them down after 2 weeks and in most cases he won’t return but if he does, keep installing the devices as needed till he’s gone for good.

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I have a woodpecker pecking my house. After years of dealing with this nuisance, I have been trying to eliminate what the woodpecker is after. I believe he’s coming to my house for food in the form of boxelder bugs. The bugs are not as bad as they used to be but the woodpecker has a good memory and still comes to my house once in a while. I have heard there is some kind of wire mess or netting that contractor’s use under stucco walls. If the woodpecker tries to search for food, he will hurt his beak on the wire and will remember to stay off this house. Do you know if this is a good option and if not, what would you suggest?

Not sure about the netting but we have had good success using the Jumping Spider. Some people have gotten a roll of the Bird Tape and when used in conjuction with the Spider, have gotten good results.

On a side note, we’ve seen woodpeckers attracted to Carpenter Bees as well as Ladybugs so you may need to do some treating for them too. Woodpecker control is really about “controlling” the things they want!

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